We're in Puno, set on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigable lake. (Must google what makes a lake "navigable") Visited the Reed Islands. Interesting to be sure but very touristy. We then take a 3 hours boat ride to the Island of Alananti where we stay in the homes of local families. Ruth and I are hosted by a lovely girl called Francisca and the rest of her family. They have a humble home with an outside loo, and a separate mud brick kitchen be...

Hot and steamy 2 days in Peru's share of the Amazon. Flew into Puerto Maldonado (mouthful). Take a 2 hour boat ride down the Madre De Dios (Mother of God) a tributary of the mighty Amazon. Our lodge sits on the bank of the river surrounded by jungle. We spend our first afternoon visiting Monkey Island across the river. It should really be called Mosquito Island for obvious reasons. Although you do see monkeys they're blurred by the cloud of mosquitos buzzing in...

Inca Trail: Day 4 Getting up at 330 in the morning is never fun. I'm not really a morning person, and when it's this early I'm not a person at all. There are a few reasons why we rise this early. One reason is because our porters must catch an early train at the bottom of the valley. If they miss it they are stuck for 12 hours waiting for the next train. A second reason is because the final check point just below our campsite opens at 530am. The aim is to get ...

Inca Trail: Day 3 Day 3 turns out to be a brilliant day. It is challenging but I feel good. After an early climb we are treated to some incredible scenery and views, in particular a far off snow capped mountain range complete with its own glacier. We then dip down into another valley within which we explore yet another Inca sight. Given the name of the trail I wonder why this surprises me. At midday we progress into a subtropical forest containing a diverse ...

Inca Trail: Day 2 I don't sleep well. It turns out that very thin mattresses and hard ground don't mix very well. Thankfully a porter wakes us up at 530am with a steaming cup of hot tea. That guilty feeling I had the day before threatens to reemerge so I beat it into submission. Breakfast is equally amazing as the lunch and dinner had yesterday but that joy is short lived when we begin the next stage of the trail. 1200 meters up to an altitude of 4200 meters. ...